A Journey into God’s Mystical Love – Convergences of Science with Faith
Is the divine scientifically perceivable?
A Special Panel Discussion event: a foretaste of our upcoming conference in Rome, December 2026
What happens when leading physicists, biologists, contemplatives, and mystics meet — not to debate — but to listen for the same underlying truth?
This special taster event offers rare access to four world-renowned pioneers whose life work lives at the threshold where empirical science encounters transcendent experience.
Together, they explore questions once thought incompatible — now increasingly impossible to separate:
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Did the Universe know we were coming?
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Is consciousness computational — or fundamentally divine?
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Can prayer and interior devotion measurably alter reality — including biology?
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Is the human being a passive observer… or a co-creator in a conscious cosmos?
Through two deeply personal dialogues — physicist with chemist, physician with contemplative — we will glimpse how scientific brilliance and mystical experience may not be opposites, but two ways of seeing the same Light.
Featuring:
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Bernard Carr, cosmologist formed under Stephen Hawking
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Kate Adamala, origin-of-life synthetic biology pioneer
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Stuart Hameroff, world authority on quantum consciousness
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James Finley, direct lineage of Thomas Merton, contemplative teacher
Followed by panel dialogue and live Q&A.
This is a prelude to the Rome 2026 Faith & Science Conference, where the journey will unfold from Big Bang to Living Mysticism, ending with interfaith prayer research and the measurable healing of the human heart.
A rare chance to witness not theory — but awakening.
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Special Introductions by:
David Lorimer, Programme Director and Global Ambassador, Scientific and Medical Network, Editor, Paradigm Explorer, is a visionary polymath, poet, spiritual activist, writer, lecturer and editor who is a Founder of Character Education Scotland, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and former President of Wrekin Trust and the Swedenborg Society. Originally a merchant banker and then a teacher of philosophy and modern languages at Winchester College, he is the author and editor of over a dozen books, including The Spirit of Science, Thinking beyond the Brain, Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality, and A New Renaissance (edited with Oliver Robinson). His most recent books are his essays A Quest for Wisdom and his collection of poems, Better Light a Candle.
Robert Hesse PhD, Chairman and Co-Founder of The Contemplative Network, is a permanent Catholic deacon, and author of Faith and Science: A Journey into God’s Mystical Love. This textbook is the agenda for the first faith and science conference in Rome and for graduate courses in Rome and Houston, resulting in a published Teacher’s Guide. He has degrees in both faith and science, with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Hesse has given numerous international and interfaith presentations, retreats and courses on faith and science and contemplative prayer. He has co-authored medical research studies on improvements in quality-of-life associated with interfaith contemplative prayer.
About the speakers:
Bernard J. Carr, Ph.D. earned his Ph.D. at Cambridge working under Stephen Hawking to study the first second of the Universe. He is President of the Scientific Medical Network and a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Queen Mary University of London. He was an early researcher on the Anthropic Principle. He was a visiting professor at Kyoto University, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and various universities in the U.S. and Canada. He is the editor of Universe or Multiverse?
Kate Adamala, Ph.D. earned her doctorate in biochemistry. She is Assistant Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development at the University of Minnesota. She studied at Harvard University for five years under Noble Laureate Dr. Jack Szostak. She also studied at the University of Rome. Her research on prebiotic RNA replication provided an experimental scenario for the RNA world hypothesis of the origin of life. Her lab studies the origin and early evolution of life. Her research interests are on synthetic cells, cell-free protein expression, and engineering genetic pathways.
Stuart Hameroff, M.D. is professor and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. With Oxford Nobel Laureate, Sir Roger Penrose, he has proposed consciousness depends on quantum processes in microtubules, protein polymers inside brain neurons, connected to fluctuations in the fine scale structure of the universe. Hameroff has speculated consciousness precedes and persists after life, entangled in spacetime geometry.
James Finley, Ph.D. is faculty member of the Center for Action and Contemplation founded by Fr. Richard Rohr. Fr. Thomas Merton was Finley’s novice master and spiritual director while he was a monk at the Trappist monastery of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology and primarily works with people suffering from the long-term effects of internalized trauma and how contemplative prayer can increase their quality of life. He has written numerous books and currently hosts the podcast Turning to the Mystics.
TICKETS
Please note: This event is included in the Season Ticket.
All bookings will receive a link to view the RECORDING.
Speaker
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Bernard CarrEmeritus Professor, SMN PresidentProf Bernard Carr is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary University of London. For his PhD, he studied the first second of the universe with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge University and Caltech. His professional area of research is cosmology and astrophysics and includes such topics as the early universe, black holes, dark matter, and the anthropic principle. He is a former chairman and current President of the Scientific and Medical Network and a former President of the Society for Psychical Research.
